Suzanne Skees
Exponent Philanthropy & Northern California Grantmakers:
Storytelling: Empathy to Action
WHO: 30 family members across 3 generationsWHAT: End poverty worldwideWHEN: 2005?WHERE: U.S. and 125 countriesWHY: An equal-opportunity worldHOW: Education and job creation: 1. Seed-funding innovative self-help programs
2. Storytelling for social change
Why do we invest in storytelling?1. Our partners are too small, busy, and humble.2. Advocacy works best when it comes from someone else.3. Data comes to life when proved out through real human
experience.
Source: The New York Times and OneSpot.com: “The Science of Storytelling.”
7 Ways to Get People to Care:1. Set goals: who, what, why.2. Tell the whole story: the good, the bad, the ugly.3. Study ahead: place, people, and program.4. Aim for your specific audience (no “general”).5. Bring readers along with you: sensory details.6. Establish rapport and humor with your subject.7. Secret sauce: find “connective tissue” between story
+ reader.